WATER IS A RIGHT – NOT A RANSOM

Aim

💧WATER IS A RIGHT, NOT A RANSOM Under today’s system, customers have become hostages to water monopolies demanding outrageous fixed charges

WATER IS A RIGHT – NOT A RANSOM

Under today’s system, customers have become hostages to water monopolies demanding outrageous fixed charges and inflated prices for drinking water — regardless of how much (or how little) we use.
Even if we don’t use a single drop, we're forced to pay sky-high fixed charges — and on top of that, we’re charged inflated prices for the clean drinking water we actually use. All the while, executives and shareholders cash in, claiming they “need more investment,” while media outlets push the narrative to justify it. But we see through the spin. This isn’t about maintaining services — it’s about profit and exploiting a necessity. It’s a form of economic terrorism, using water as a weapon to control and profit from people’s basic needs.

This isn’t a water bill — it’s a ransom. It’s time for Water Social Fund.

 THE REALITY BEHIND THE SPIN: WATER BOSSES CASH IN

Let’s spill the truth on who profits while we pay more and get less:

• Severn Trent: CEO Liv Garfield received £3.2 million in total pay for 2023–24, despite the company being fined £2 million for sewage spills affecting tens of thousands of households 

• United Utilities: CEO Louise Beardmore earned around £1.4 million, while the firm remains the most polluting provider in England due to widespread sewage dumping 

• Thames Water: CEO Chris Weston, appointed January 2024, received approximately £2.25 million despite the company’s financial crisis

• Yorkshire Water: CEO Nicola Shaw earned over £1 million 

• Other companies: Bonuses across the sector climbed to £9.1 million in total — with four executives at Yorkshire Water collecting nearly £1.1 million, three at Severn Trent about £3.3 million, and multiple executives at United Utilities sharing nearly £2.5 million 

Despite widespread environmental failures and rising bills, we’re still funding the lavish rewards of a boardroom of economic terrorists living off national ransom.

While they rake in millions, we’re stuck paying high fixed fees and inflated water prices — even if we barely use water. This isn’t fair. It’s  RANSOM dressed as a utility bill.

 OUR DEMAND: PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR EXECUTIVES

All water company executives on individual contracts must be held personally liable for their decisions.
Just like sole traders are responsible for their actions and can be held accountable with their own property, water bosses should not be shielded from consequences.

If found guilty of negligence, mismanagement, regulatory breaches, reckless investment, environmental harm, or financial abuse of consumers, they must be required to compensate — personally.

And if that means losing their wealth, homes, or even ending up sleeping rough — that is not inhumane. It’s the price of accountability.

No more hiding behind corporate walls. No more passing the cost of their greed onto the hostages..

FAIR PRICING: FIXED CHARGES TIED TO THE NATIONAL LIVING WAGE (NLW)
We propose a new, fair system where every customer’s all fixed charges guarantee a basic water allowance — with higher fixed charges granting more free water — ensuring everyone receives essential water without being overcharged by corporate greed:

Monthly Allowance — Maximum Fixed Charges (as % of one hour’s NLW):

4m³ — 80% of one hour’s NLW
3m³ — 60% of one hour’s NLW
2m³ — 40% of one hour’s NLW
 1m³ — 30% of one hour’s NLW  

This ties water prices directly to real wages — and helps protect the  low- and middle-income households from corporate greed.
This guarantees water stays accessible and affordable for all, not only for the wealthy and privileged.

A NATION RICH IN RAIN
The UK is a country where rain falls freely from the sky every week — a natural treasure that should guarantee plentiful, cheap water for all.

Yet today, water companies hold us hostage, charging fixed fees and exorbitant prices — all while insisting “investment is needed” and paying themselves millions per year. No matter how much they get, they want more.

This is unacceptable. Water is a basic human right, not a luxury or a weapon.
We should no longer be hostages of Water Bosses’ terror.

Water is life. Not leverage. Not profit. Not terror.

FAIR PRICING FOR WATER — BASED ON NATIONAL LIVING WAGE (NLW)

If NLW = £12.21 / hour (example), then:

Water Type Max           Cost per Cubic              Meter   Explanation
Clean Water £1.22 / m³                           10% of 1 hour’s NLW (£12.21 × 10%)

 Dirty Water                  £0.61 / m³              5% of 1 hour’s NLW (£12.21 × 5%)

OUR DEMANDS: CONSUMER JUSTICE 

No Fixed Charges for Low-Income Households
Anyone earning up to the National Living Wage (NLW) × 40 hours/week × 52 weeks pays NO fixed charges.

 Water is essential — not a luxury. No one should be charged for basic access to life.

WHO PAYS FOR WATER COMPANIES’ GREED?
When Water Bosses demand billions in ransom — they can get it, as long as wealthy folks are footing the bill for their greed.

The Water Social Fund will finance investment in water infrastructure while shielding low- and middle-income households from excessive costs — making sure no one is priced out of a basic human need.

  Progressive Contributions:

• Anyone earning over £150,000/year pays a Water Social Tax (amount depends on the regulator approving Water Bosses’ demands)
• Anyone receiving a bonus pays 25% to the Water Social Fund
• Companies paying bonuses contribute 25% of total bonus payouts to the Water Social Fund

The Water Social Fund supports infrastructure, protects low- and middle-income households, and helps end profiteering.

If the wealthy feel accountability and transparency are lacking or believe they are being ripped off by Water Bosses, they can afford solicitors to demand compensation or take legal action.

And if they want to pay less into the Water Social Fund, they can lobby the government to impose higher taxes on tax-avoiding giants like Amazon — so those millions can help fund the Water Social Fund instead.

The Water Social Fund is fair for all — it protects low- and middle-income households and won’t harm the wealthy.
The wealthy may not see it that way — but they’re not the ones struggling to survive a national ransom.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
Some customers might believe the media spin and think everything is fine — that if they want to be hostages of Water Bosses and pay whatever the bosses demand, then surely they should have that right.

But many of us see the truth. It’s time to stand up, speak out, and demand fair treatment.
No more paying ransom — water is a necessity, not a privilege.

Water company bosses protect their massive pay bonuses, reward shareholders, and raise our bills — while blaming “investment needs.”

Refuse to stay silent. The time for change is now.
We’re demanding a fair and accountable water pricing system.

Water is life, not a source of greed.

JOIN THE FIGHT FOR CONSUMER JUSTICE
No more corporate greed. No more hostage water bills.
No more media gaslighting.

We demand a just, fair approach to water bills.

 Support this campaign. Share the message. Demand Consumer Justice. Demand Water Social Fund.

WHAT ARE YOU FUNDING?
Your donations will help:

• Launch a Consumer Justice Water campaign
• Create online awareness
• Build public pressure for change
• Mobilize communities to demand fair water pricing — peaceful protest only.

This project closed unsuccessfully on 15th October 2025